# Is Sidney Powell insane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 22, 2020, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169 "2020-11-22T04:25:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/81 "2020-11-26T14:56:13Z")
Powell has filed a lawsuit in Georgia. On the first page, right at the top, it petitions the “United States Districct Court” in “Disctrcoict of Georgia.” She filed a separate lawsuit in the “Eastern Distrct of Michigan.” On Trump social media, the Trumpists are crowing that these lawsuits will reverse the election. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/82 "2020-11-26T15:25:10Z")
I hope the judge holds her in contempt of spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/83 "2020-11-26T15:40:03Z")
Trumpists are saying the typos are just OCR PDF-to-text problems. Do you have a link to the actual complaints? ETA: Nevermind. As usual those claims are false. The errors are in the original filed complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/84 "2020-11-26T15:56:19Z")
And holy-moly is that complaint all kinds of crazy… I think just reading it should be enough to definitively answer the question in the OP. One of the craziest bits (although it’s hard to make that call) is that Dominion voting systems uses software from a company called Smartmatic that rigged elections for Chavez. Of course, those two companies have nothing in common, no Smartmatic code is used in Dominion machines, and in fact they are competitors. The “evidence” of this link between the companies? None that I can find. There is a whistleblower that talks about Smartmatic being used fraudulently in Venezuela. And there is an affadavit from a guy that claims he wrote some software that “now to hack a voting machine you just need 7 minutes alone with it and a screwdriver.” Evidence that anybody actually used a screwdriver to hack a voting machine? None provided. Another person named Ramsland (this in the Michigan case, not sure if it’s in GA too) claims that “Dominion alone is responsible for the injection, or fabrication, of 289,866 illegal votes in Michigan, that must be disregarded”. Evidence of this claim in Ramsland’s affadavit? None. Just statistical wankery of the kind we have seen shot down over and over. One piece of that evidence is that there are large “spikes” in the data. But, as we all know if we watch the fucking news, many counties were batching results and sending them as large groups rather than dribs and drabs. Completely unsurprising to anybody that has a clue about how the election was run, but “obvious sign of manipulation” to some I suppose. I’d say read the whole thing, but really, don’t. It’s pure crazy. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/85 "2020-11-26T17:21:09Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > One of the craziest bits (although it’s hard to make that call) is that Dominion voting systems uses software from a company called Smartmatic that rigged elections for Chavez. Of course, those two companies have nothing in common, no Smartmatic code is used in Dominion machines, and in fact they are competitors. Wait, really? Source for this? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/86 "2020-11-26T17:32:24Z")
Here’s a link to the lawsuit. [https://www.cbs46.com/sidney-powell-lawsuit/pdf\_530fcc96-2ff5-11eb-b5a1-071d67389a2f.html](https://www.cbs46.com/sidney-powell-lawsuit/pdf_530fcc96-2ff5-11eb-b5a1-071d67389a2f.html) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/87 "2020-11-26T17:48:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Powell has filed a lawsuit in Georgia. On the first page, right at the top, it petitions the “United States Districct Court” in “Disctrcoict of Georgia.” > > She filed a separate lawsuit in the “Eastern Distrct of Michigan.” {…} If you think that’s bad wait till you see how she spells ‘Democratic Party’! ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/88 "2020-11-26T18:19:06Z")
Damn! I was going to float my theory that Dominion made the scanner. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/89 "2020-11-26T18:20:03Z")
The Dominion must not be allowed to control the Wormhole! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/90 "2020-11-26T18:24:13Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > The Dominion must not be allowed to control the Wormhole!. You solids cannot be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/91 "2020-11-26T18:31:47Z")
That actually reminded me of a Manga called Dominion, Tank Police. [https://graphitecomics.com/issue/Dark-Horse-Comics/Dominion/Dominion-volume-1-issue-1/1](https://graphitecomics.com/issue/Dark-Horse-Comics/Dominion/Dominion-volume-1-issue-1/1) Yes, back in the 80s it warned about bacteria as well as air pollution becoming so severe that people must wear masks and the police becomes militarized. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/92 "2020-11-26T19:52:03Z")
Are you asking for a source for the claim or for the rebuttal? The claim is in the document @Ann_Hedonia linked. The rebuttal is everywhere, but here is one from Reuters: [Fact check: Dominion is not linked to Antifa or Venezuela, did not switch U.S. 2020 election votes in Virginia and was not subject to a U.S. army raid in Germany | Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-dominion/fact-check-dominion-is-not-linked-to-smartmatic-antifa-or-venezuela-did-not-switch-u-s-2020-election-votes-in-virginia-and-was-not-subject-to-a-u-s-army-raid-in-germany-idUSKBN2861TB?feedType=mktg&feedName=reutersComService&WT.mc_id=Partner-Google) ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/93 "2020-11-26T19:59:56Z")
OK, I think I take back my previous claim about the Dominion/Smartmatic/Venezuala claims being the craziest part. This is the craziest part: > [@](#): > > As explained and demonstrated in the accompanying redacted declaration of a former electronic intelligence analyst under 305th Military Intelligence with experience gathering SAM missile system electronic intelligence, the Dominion software was accessed by agents acting on behalf of China and Iran in order to monitor and manipulate elections, including the most recent US general election in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/94 "2020-11-26T20:30:33Z")
Like a lot of that brief, it’s just _sloppy._ “305th Military Intelligence” isn’t a thing. There is a 305th Military Intelligence _Battalion_, but it’s an Initial Entry Training unit that trains Geospatial Imagery Intelligence Analysts and All Source Intelligence Analysts. Which has nothing to do with “gathering SAM missile system electronic intelligence.” Which in turn has nothing to do with expertise in either hacking election machines or monitoring and manipulating data in such devices. To be fair, maybe at one point the 305th MI BN did train ELINT and/or SIGINT analysts, but… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/95 "2020-11-26T20:41:46Z")
I was in SIGINT myself, actually; I was an intelligence analyst in the Canadian Forces for years, and I was really good at it. In no way whatsoever would I be qualified to comment on the hacking of voting machines. Those are not the same knowledge base. They are not related knowledge bases. They aren’t in the same field at all. They are roughly as similar to one another as a veterinarian and an accountant. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/96 "2020-11-26T21:08:28Z")
> **[Citing conspiracy theories, Michigan GOP electors ask court to name Trump winner](https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/26/michigan-lawsuit-wants-trump-named-winner-citing-conspiracy-theories/6432005002/)** > > A new lawsuit brought by Michigan Republicans asks a judge to decide that President Trump won the state based on a bevy of conspiracy theories. “Relief sought is the elimination of the mail ballots from counting in the 2020 election,” the 75-page suit says. "Alternatively, the electors for the State of Michigan should be disqualified from counting toward the 2020 election. “Alternatively, the electors of the State of Michigan should be directed to vote for President Donald Trump.” Do I have this right? I see 3 options she wants in Michigan: 1. Disqualify all mail in votes 2. Michigan, all of Michigan, all actual votes and all electoral votes will just not be considered, like they never happened 3. Michigan electors to vote for Trump, period So did I screw that up? Because if I didn’t, she’s clearly off her rocker. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/97 "2020-11-26T21:27:32Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Do I have this right? I see 3 options she wants in Michigan: > > 1. Disqualify all mail in votes > 2. Michigan, all of Michigan, all actual votes and all electoral votes will just not be considered, like they never happened > 3. Michigan electors to vote for Trump, period > > So did I screw that up? Because if I didn’t, she’s clearly off her rocker. Yup, you’ve got it. Because random SIGINT guy thinks Iran and China hacked the election. And another dude wrote a program once that could be installed in a voting machine if you have a screwdriver. Oh, and some other guy decided that the rate at which votes were reported was physically impossible based on a spreadsheet he wrote (this is the same guy that screwed up MN and MI in another affidavit). And some other people felt like they were asked to stand too far away. Clearly all of that means Michigan should just go to Trump, right? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/98 "2020-11-26T21:46:07Z")
Or not count as though there was no Michigan. What the fuck? Republicans, where are you? What do you say? You claim IDs should be required to vote because the sanctity of the vote is oh so important. And now you’re in court to disqualify an entire state’s votes? Speak up, Republicans. What do you got? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/99 "2020-11-27T02:09:27Z")
Why not? The current administration has apparently reversed every advance in spelling for English. ---
**Author:** ![Monocracy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monocracy/32/4493_2.png) [@Monocracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monocracy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169/100 "2020-11-27T15:16:06Z")
Sidney Powell is basically fleshing out the theory that Trump has been pushing on Twitter. Many, many Trump supporters believe this. PredictIt closed their market for “Who will win the popular vote?” just a few days ago. Trump was at 8 cents at the time of closing. The insanity is real and it’s widespread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sidney-powell-insane/926169.md?page=6)